Bulimia
by FuckMePumps
Summary: The title speaks for itself. Oneshot ShikaIno. Pls. R


**Author's note:** It's my first ShikaIno, everyone! Hurray!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own whatever. But someday… I WILL. Bwahahahahahahahahahahah!

_**-**_

_**I will be here**_

_**When you feel like being quiet**_

_**When you need to speak your mind**_

_**I will listen**_

_**And I will be here**_

_**When the laughter turns to crying**_

_**Through the winning, losing and trying**_

_**We'll be together**_

_**Cause I will be here**_

_**-Gary Valenciano, I Will Be Here**_

_**-**_

Yamanaka Ino held on to the walls of the bathroom stall for support. This… _activity _had always made her feel faint and lightheaded. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she glanced at the pinkish vomit she had previously directed at the toilet. But she still felt a weight in her stomach, and it just won't go away.

She bent over at the toilet and pushed her index finger in her throat as far as it would go. She triggered it, and in moments, she felt her breakfast coming up. The substance filled the inside of her mouth with a bitter taste and she immediately hurled.

The vomit splattered against the white porcelain, and finally, she didn't feel any heaviness in her abdomen. Hands shaking, she pushed the flush button and heard the gurgling sound of water erase the evidence.

Her blue eyes watered as she leaned on the wall, sinking to a sitting position. She pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face. How could she have sunken this low?

And like her long blonde hair, her flirty nature, and among many other things, it started with Uchiha Sasuke… and Haruno Sakura.

_FLASHBACK_

_All formal parties are likened to a gathering of penguins and glitter, or in more appropriate words, the men in tuxedos and the women in elegant dresses. The Annual Shinobi Ball was no exception._

_It was a joyous event, for the last of the genins from team eight, and ten were recently promoted to the chuunin level in the last exam. Year by year, they all made it to chuunin gradually, and now, after four years since they all joined in their first try at the exam, they're at the same level again, except for Shikamaru who was now a jounin. It was also kind of a reunion, as they hadn't seen much of each other through the years._

_The former Team Gai were all members of the ANBU now, but had still managed to attend. Rock Lee, Tenten and Neji were seventeen, and they looked like it too. Lee had long abandoned his bowl-cut hairstyle and changed it to the one he had before, with bangs and hair sticking up at the sides and the back. He still had the thick eyebrows, but that was what made him Lee. Both he and Neji had gotten taller and more well-built, because of the additional exercise they have by being in the ANBU. Besides that and the fact that his features had gotten edgier and set, like his father's, the Hyuuga was still recognizable. But the one who changed the most out of the three was Tenten. She was more gorgeous than when she was thirteen, with thick dark lashes, big brown eyes and a heart-shaped mouth, and wore her hair down frequently now, it as if she blossomed overnight, and it was more obvious in the shimmering dark purple gown she wore._

_The team eight group were among the most cheerful tonight, because Hinata was one of those last ones who had recently become chuunin, along with Choji. Inuzuka Kiba didn't let a minute pass without congratulating his shy former team mate. A lot more handsome and defined than he had been, Kiba was more held back with his brashness and showed his sensitive side more often, earning him almost as much admirers as Sasuke. Hinata would only respond with a smile or a blush. Hinata had also grown, her simple yet lovely appearance still having a semblance of the bashful twelve-year-old she had been before, only with longer hair and more mature features. Her dress was made of satin and cream-colored, matching her look perfectly. She was still soft-spoken until now, but it was an improvement. Sometimes, she would even be able to strike up a conversation. She had gotten over Naruto already, but his determination had worn off on her, which was a good thing. Aburame Shino still looked mostly the same, with sunglasses and a high collar shirt that covered his face, but, like all the other guys, he was more muscular and taller._

_Ino was with her old team mates too, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. Shikamaru, as previously stated, was already a jounin and was being offered a spot to be an ANBU captain, like Neji. He had grown up too ahead of all of them, too early for his age too, but being the first one to be chuunin, it wasn't that surprising. Still, it saddened Ino a bit. He was really too mature and often busy; the last time she checked, he was Shikamaru. Choji was still rather… stout, but he was Choji, and eating was still his number one hobby, even at sixteen._

_Lastly, there was team seven, which was still incomplete. Sakura was running late; only Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were there. There wasn't much to say about Sasuke, aside from the fact that he just got A LOT MORE GOOD-LOOKING than before, which meant that Ino still had that crush on him. It was childish, yes, but she couldn't help it. Naruto had also become fairly attractive, and both changed in terms of muscularity and height._

_After an hour since the party started, the door opened, revealing the missing kunoichi. And she turned quite a few heads._

_Her pink hair had gone back to its long length, the layered hairstyle framing her face prettily. Her blue-green eyes were shining like the gloss on her cherry lips, and she wore a scarlet dress that showed off her now model-like figure. Ino's mouth gaped. When did that previously insecure girl with a large forehead become so beautiful?_

_If Tenten was an orchid and Hinata was a lily, Sakura had finally become a rose. Now Ino didn't know what she was, feeling hopelessly insignificant in her pastel blue gown and her untied blonde hair._

_Sakura nodded politely at the stares that had welcomed her, even from the elderly ninjas. She walked across the room like a queen, no, a goddess, and straight to the spot where her two former team mates where._

_Naruto wolf-whistled. "Sakura-chan, you look amazing," he said, grinning._

"_Arigato, Naruto-kun," she replied._

_Just then, music began to play, signaling everyone that it was time to start dancing. Kiba asked Hinata without hesitation for a dance, which the Hyuuga heiress instantly agreed to._

_Sasuke looked at the scene, then at his stunning female friend, then back at the couple again. His normally empty black eyes lit up._

"_Sakura, would you like to dance?" He said, somewhat point-blank. He held out one hand. Naruto smirked, amused at his two friends.. _

_Since Ino was already gaping, this time her jaw dropped. She had actually heard those words come out of Sasuke's mouth! She watched helplessly as Sakura smiled, then took Sasuke's outstretched hand._

"_Only with you, Sasuke-kun," she answered. Sasuke smiled back, and led her towards the dance floor._

_Ino put a hand to her stomach and felt a bulge. Was it possible? Had she really become fat that Sasuke only noticed Sakura's perfect figure now? They had served her favorite dish there and she had eaten a lot. Now, the good taste of that food gave her an uncontrollable urge to vomit. She excused herself from her friends and practically ran to the bathroom, slamming the stall door. Once there, the partly-digested food in her stomach made her sick. She stuck her finger down her throat until she couldn't push it down further. In seconds, her eyes welled up and she vomited._

_She didn't actually know what she was going to do once in the bathroom, but the nausea alerted her instincts. _

_After she threw up, a feeling of relief swept over her. She went out of the stall feeling a thousand times better than before. But when she looked at the mirror, and used her hands to measure her waistline, it was still BIG. She groaned and tried to vomit again, but she had already thrown up everything that was in her stomach. Maybe she'll just do it daily, after every meal. Eat a little, then hurl._

_Anything to get Sasuke's attention._

_AFTER TWO MONTHS…_

_She pushed open the stall door and basically staggered out. She had to get thinner for tomorrow, the arranged group training exercise for the old gang. She brushed her teeth briskly, scrubbing extra harder and adding a tad more toothpaste to take out the sour-bitter taste that lingered in her mouth._

_Stumbling around her room, she took a nightgown from her cabinet. Pulling her shirt over her head and removed her shorts, and slipped the nightgown on. Since last last month, she had shrunk at least three sizes and now she weighed less than ninety-five pounds. She fingered her waist and smiled happily._

"_Everyone, get ready for the new Ino."_

_THE NEXT DAY…_

_Ino's mother cried out at the sight of her daughter. Her father almost choked on his tea. Ino didn't notice this, however, as she strolled outside to go meet her friends._

"_Hey, Ino-chan! We were all waiting for… WOAH!" Choji trailed off as he saw her. _

"_Ino, what happened to you?" Kiba asked, staring in disbelief._

"_Why? Don't you guys like it?" She put her hands on her hips._

_Everyone glanced uneasily at each other. It was the ever-blunt Neji who told the truth._

"_Ino, you're as thin as a rake. When the wind blows I swear you might fall."_

_Before anyone could react, Sasuke and Sakura arrived. He had an arm around her waist. Everyone got the idea._

_It was all too much for Ino already. She looked at Sasuke and Sakura, then at Neji, then at everyone else. She ran, with no explanation to her reason why._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

She stood up, ready to leave, when she felt something come up. Without indecision, she aimed her mouth at the toilet. She didn't even need her finger to make it happen.

As the undigested food left her, she continued to heave. What surprised her was the warm, steady hand that smoothly rubbed her back.

"Just let it out," a voice sad, calm and soothing. She obeyed.

When she opened her eyes, she saw some blood mixed with the stuff she vomited. Her eyes widened in horror. Suddenly, she remembered the hand, the voice, and turned around.

In front of her stood Shikamaru, face expressionless, his eyes saying it all. They laid no blame, but a question: _Why?_

She lowered her head in shame, putting down the toilet seat and slowly sat down, putting her face in her hands. She didn't even hear him come in.

He knelt down to her level, taking her chin in one firm yet gentle grip.

"Look at me."

Her eyes remained planted on the floor.

"Ino, look at me," he said again, with a hint of authority. It was enough to make her do so.

"Why?"

"I.. I don't know..." Her voice shook terribly. Her vision became blurred as water filled her eyes.

"Hey," his grip on her chin remained. "Don't cry."

That turned on the faucet. Streams of hot salty water went down each side of her face. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her and she broke down.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry…" She sobbed in his neck.

He hugged her tighter. "Shh, it's okay… I'm here…"

"I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to… I'm sorry…" she continued, falling apart at every word. And every word uttered by that trembling voice was like a dagger in his heart.

"Iie, it's okay…" He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. It reduced her tears to sniffles. "Just…" He breathed deeply.

"Just don't do it again, hai?" Nothing could make him let her go now.

"Hai-hai," she replied. "I promise."

She fainted, the strain on her mind proving to be too much.

Shikamaru leaned on the stall door, on his knees, holding an unconscious Ino in his arms. He vaguely wondered how he ended up here, and then realized he didn't care. She was all that mattered now.

She would ask him later how he knew just when to come.

"_That's what I'm here for."_

**A/N:**

Readers: what the hell what that? (raises pitchforks and torches)

Me: I dunno. The idea just popped in my head. Don't blame me!

Readers: CHARGE!

Me: (gone)

Seriously, I really don't know what made me write this. The SasuSaku part, the bulimic Ino, the detailed vomiting, and the popping-out-of-nowhere Shikamaru. I know it was a bit OOC (readers: and?), and scratchy (readers: and?), and confusing (me: yeah, yeah, I get it. :sarcastic voice: and?) not my best work, but whatever.

People, I need constructive criticism, comments, flames, whatever! You know I need 'em! Just say whatever you want in your reviews! So please…

REVIEW!


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